Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke’s The Rich Dead Essay Example

of the different viewpoints at that time.

From the title of Owen's poem, 'Dulce et Decorum Est' (translating as 'It is sweet and right') one would expect to discover a poem which glorifies the virtues of war. However these initial thoughts are shattered when we read the opening simile of the poem as the soldiers are compared to repulsive 'beggars' and 'hags'; "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags," The extremely graphic language and imagery used by Own effectively conveys the atrocities of war and encourages us to invisage the decrepit, dishevelled state the soldiers are in.

The reference to 'hags' suggests that their suffering has deprived them of their dignity and in some ways dehumanised them. His description implies that they possess no honour and society has no respect for them. The use of the pronoun 'we' emphasises the poets personal involvement in the action of the poem and immediately arouses sympathy from the reader. The use of the word 'sludge' reminds us of the universal and pervasive presence of mud in WW1 trench warfare. Owens use of language causes us to imagine the load the exhausted soldiers are carrying as they 'trudge' towards the elusive 'distant rest'.

The use of the word 'trudge' implies that the men are so worn out they no longer march in any organised or disciplined way, but merely struggle to put one foot in front of the other. This idea is further developed in the next line "Men marched asleep.... " Significantly the term 'soldiers' is not used as they are referred to in basic human terms as 'Men', reminding us that the lives lost in battle

were not those of vicious warriors but everyday men that live amongst us; sons, brothers, husbands.

Their utter pitiable state is stressed in the same line "Many had lost their boots" showing that even basic military equipment was not present. The clause 'blood-shod' is another example of Owens graphic and horrific choice of language. The striking phrase conjures an image of intense physical pain as the soldiers bare feet are covered with coagulated blood, either their own or their fallen comrades. The phrase 'Drunk with fatigue' reiterates the soldiers' exhaustion, which is quite ironic, as normally being intoxicated is not associated within the world of war, rather in festive, jovial occasions.

As the word 'Drunk' begins a line and contains a capital letter, I feel that Owen really wanted to stress his bitterness at experiencing intoxication in this way and he may feel robbed of opportunities that possibly awaited him later in life. Owen continues to describe the 'tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind'. The use of personification in portraying the bombs as 'tired' further underlines how nonchalant the men are concerning the war. The line also stresses the fatigue of the men as they no longer even have the energy to outrun enemy fire and seem to have become desensitised to the boom! f the bombs.

On analysis the very visual depiction of the degenerate soldiers bodies in the opening stanza, suggests that the 'distant rest' alluded to could even be death or heaven rather than the dubious shelter of the trenches. Brooke's poem on the other hand opens with a dramatically different atmosphere, "Blow out you bugles, over the rich Dead! " The poem opens with

an imperative that is reinforced by the 'BB' alliteration. Brooke orders an act of commemoration for the fallen soldiers, as the bugle is a musical instrument traditionally reserved for this function.

The line explodes with exaltation and the mood is noticeably high-spirited. Brooke portrays the deaths of the young men as being honourable and of the eternal riches to be gained in death by using the metaphor of wealth 'the rich Dead'. The capital D is also used to personify their importance. The pace of the opening stanza of "The Rich Dead" contrasts sharply to the pace of the opening stanza of "Dulce et Decorum est". Owen through the very images he depicts for us compels us to read the opening line slowly, almost share the fatigue and exhaustion felt by the soldiers.

The poet also uses alliteration, "Bent double like old beggars... ", but this time I feel that the "B" sound is heavy and lethargic and thus slows the pace down. The pace in the opening stanza of "Dulce et Decorum est" is also deadened by the use of enjambement, which seems to take away from the rhyming scheme of the poem and thus stops us from 'singing' the poem. This in contrast is exactly what Brooke wishes us to do. One can easily imagine a chorus of shimmering gold bugles heralding the noble deaths of the soldiers. The image Brooke conveys to us is very majestic and this regal theme permeates the entire poem.

By doing this I feel that Brooke is underlining that by the very fact of their death in war the soldiers have been elevated in some way. This idea that the

soldiers have somehow gained through their deaths is accentuated in the title and the opening line, "... rich Dead". It appears Brooke is suggesting that the soldiers are more morally worthy dead than alive and whatever the condition of the mens previous life - 'lonely' and 'poor' the process of dying has rendered them precious. Through death they have gained acclaim, esteem and immortality.

Brooke uses somewhat romantic language to describe the soldiers deaths, as he says how "dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold". The association with gold an archetypal precious metal eternally valued, to the soldiers deaths implies that they shall never be forgotten and like gold, their heritage shall never tarnish with age. This concept of Brooke's is very true as annually on Remembrance Day we commemorate those who lost their lives at war. The fact that the soldiers are said to have made 'gifts' of their lives suggests that they gave their lives willingly.

This idea is reiterated later in the poem: ... gave up the years to be Of work and joy,... " The verb 'gave up' implies that the men sacrificed life's opportunities voluntarily spurred on by the thoughts of honour and duty to their country. Brooke seems to concentrate on the notion that the soldiers by putting themselves on the front line, have made the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. This idea is shown in the line "These laid the world away", as the idea that they gave up everything to honour their country - the world, society, themselves. These threads of romanticism are certainly conspicuously absent in Owen's poetry.

He is more at pains to present us with a more

graphic and indeed horrific portrayal of the war. The second stanza of "Dulce et Decorum est" opens on a frantic scene of a gas attack. "Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time," We can see that rather than the jubilant tones of "The Rich Dead", the mood which Owen is endeavouring to communicate, is one of chaos and confusion. Again Owen is appealing for our sympathy by labelling the soldiers as 'boys', emphasising their youthfulness and comradeship.

The pace of the poem accelerates rapidly in the second stanza due to its exclamatory tone. But rather than the euphemistic nature of Brooke's triumphalism, Owen is attempting to convey the sense of urgency and desperation of the attacks as we see that what was viewed as a simple task-getting ones gasmask on in time, is literally a matter of life and death. At this point due to the men's fatigue and consequent lack of physical co-ordination, this proves to be a very difficult proposition indeed. This effect is accomplished by the use of monosyllabic words, "Gas!

Gas! Quick, boys! " as well as the frequent use of exclamation marks, encourage us to proclaim the lines. Owen uses a striking choice of language as he describes the panic of the situation as 'An ecstasy of fumbling'. Although the word ecstasy usually refers to a moment of intensity, it is almost always associated with happiness; therefore it is a striking use of language to connect with one mans imminent death. The pace is further quickened by the use of alliteration in 'fumbling' and 'fitting'; words which themselves accentuate the hopelessness of the

scene.

I feel that 'fumbling' and 'clumsy' also portray just how uncoordinated and unprepared the men actually were as a result of their fatigue and injuries. Owens description of the soldiers' death in the first stanza is hard-hitting and gruesome. One can feel the sense of horror he communicates and the minute detail with which he writes is testimony to the fact that Owen has experienced these images first hand. "But someone was yelling out and stumbling And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime... " The language is very vivid.

The use of the simile comparing the dying man to a man 'in fire or lime' is particularly effective as I can visualise this paralysed soldier clutching at his throat, gasping for air; grappling at Owen, battling for assistance. From this graphic depiction one can feel Owen's sense of helplessness and overwhelming sense of regret, as he looks on unable to help his dying comrade. I noticed that at the end of this line Owen breaks off, as if words fail to describe the full horror of the situation. Owen goes on to relate how it felt actually witnessing such an atrocity: Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. " 'Dim' and 'misty' recapitulate the swirling poison gas as it further obscures the already limited vision of the soldier. The mans blind panic and agonising movements are compared to someone drowning under water as he does indeed drown in his own lungs. There is possible wordplay on 'panes' as Owen emphasises his pain felt through the panes of the gasmasks. Owen's technique of focussing

on one mans individual suffering is highly effective.

His pain is intense, personal and touching. There is a time shift in the poem as the doomed soldier revisits the poet's subconscious mind. The image of this has obviously left a lasting impression on Owen as he describes in the line: "In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. " The experience infiltrates his dreams, and haunts him. The onomatopoeic words, 'guttering' and 'choking' lend an aural dimension to the poem. They force us to hear as well as envisage the dying soldier struggling to breathe.

The mechanical listing of words 'guttering, choking, drowning' emphasises Owen's inability to communicate his feelings and thoughts coherently. The words are colliding in his mind, so traumatic was his ordeal. I noticed that the words 'guttering, choking, drowning'-'ing' ending words (known as the present participle) are used to highlight the ongoing nature of the doomed soldiers suffering, even though he is now dead. Through Owens poem his agony is given a timeless, eternal quality. Brooke also discusses death in his poem "The Rich Dead", except his depiction is much more romantic: "... poured out the red

Sweet wine of youth;" Brooke uses euphemistic language to describe the bloodshed of the soldiers as an almost attractive prospect. His language is almost hypnotic as he employs a very beautiful metaphor to glorify the deaths of the soldiers. The powerful, vibrant aspect of the colour red is highlighted here. The adjective 'sweet' underscores the soldiers' innocence and youthfulness. In my opinion, likening the spillage of young men's blood to red wine is repugnant. I feel that rather than glorifying

their deaths to any degree, it robs them of their pain, suffering and even their humanity.

There are also obvious associations here to that of the Last Supper. The idea of sacrifice is inherent as like Christ the soldiers laid down their lives to save others. Continuing in this vein Brooke also mentions "... that unhoped serene, That men call age" This is with reference to old age. Peaceful old age that the soldiers will never experience, yet as a plus point spare them the indignity that old age may bring. The poet tells us that these patriots made a conscious decision to take this path, willingly and freely. The soldiers shall therefore be remembered as being 'Forever Young'.

The soldiers also chose to give up their opportunity to have families and from the use of punctuation in the line "... and those who would have been, Their sons, they gave, their immortality" Brooke clearly intends to force the reader to fully consider the extent of the soldier's sacrifice as he uses commas after words/phrases he really wants us to ponder over. He stresses that not only have they given up their own lives, but they have also sacrificed their entire line of succession 'Their sons'. This arouses more sympathy from the reader as we imagine the numerous lives that could have been but sadly were not.

The last verse of "Dulce et Decorum est" reverts back to a slow rhythm as Owen describes 'the wagon that we flung him in'. The pace is again 'deadened' as we imagine a funeral procession carrying the fallen soldier. However rather than trumpets blasting and golden and golden chariots carrying the

bodies off to heaven as Brooke would have us believe, Owen describes a scene entirely bereft of any respect honour or prestige. The moribund soldiers body is treated with no respect, like a discarded piece of meat, which at one level is all it will become.

The word 'flung' is quite violent and a rather careless way to dispose of a corpse. The 'wagon' is an undignified, graceless vehicle, entirely unsuitable for the task in hand. There is no opportunity for a Christian burials the remaining soldiers continue on with their painful journey. You can hear the resentment and bitter anger in Owen's words as he outlines this horrific picture for us. He then begins the detailed, graphic description of the individual soldier's final moments of agony.

The description of the soldier's body is not only graphic but also sickening: And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin," The alliterative 'w' sound draws and fixes your eyes on the words 'white eyes writhing'. We imagine the mans eyes as they have already began to roll back into his head in death, or perhaps sheer terror has drained his eyes in colour. The image is appalling and just like the devil being sick of sin the picture is unimaginable. The phrase devil's sick of sin' is deliberately grotesque and seems to have more effect than meaning. Owen is possibly rejecting war with the same force as someone who is physically vomiting.

There are also more examples of alliteration here with 's' producing a hissing sound, possibly representing the soldier's final desperate gasps for air. Owen is challenging those who

advocate war to think deeply and is endeavouring to give us a truer representation of its effects and atrocities instead of offering glib declarations of patriotism. The stanza continues by relating to us the very sounds of death and repeats his direct appeal to the readers senses: "If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,"

The word 'jolt' is like 'flung' as it reiterates the lack of respect and regard that was accorded to the dead soldier. By way of contrast Owen mention of blood here can be blatantly juxtaposed with Brooke's 'Sweet wine' as red is presented as the colour of suffering and destruction, emphasising Owens utter hatred of the excruciating and wholly unavoidable deaths at that incurred in war time. The onomatopoeic word 'gargling' again makes the poem much more aural; it is actually quite eerie to think that the dead boy is suffering as much in his death as in life.

I think that Owen's use of the words 'cancer' and 'incurable' is poignant; it is as if war is cancerous, it eats away at us offering us no remedy. The second verse of "The Rich Dead" opens again with a mood of exaltation. "Blow, bugles, blow! They brought for us our dearth, Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, and Pain," Brooke's alliteration in 'Blow, bugles, blow! ' again quickens the pace of the poem, adding fluency to the line. The poem declares that through their deaths, the soldiers brought us holiness, love and pain-qualities previously lacking.

Brooke seems to be endeavouring to elevate the soldiers to the status of more heavenly figures and to some extent drawing

a parallel between the soldiers and Jesus Christ. Both died for the sake of their people offering up their pain and suffering. The gifts, Holiness, Love and Pain are all assigned a capital letter, presumably to underscore their importance. Brooke goes on to use personification in the closing lines of the poem. He describes how: "Honour has come back, as a king, to earth, And paid his subjects with a royal wage;" The regal theme is prevalent in these lines.

Brooke uses it to glorify the scene, to make it more majestic. He wants us to envisage a King, dressed in his stately robes of rich reds and golds, distributing this 'royal wage' to the on-looking crowds. The picture we imagine from Brooke's words encourage us to see happy, excited faces, cheering the dead and the wonderful sacrifice they made. The scene therefore could not contrast more sharply than with the desperate picture Owen has illustrated for us in "Dulce et Decorum est".

The closing lines are 'weighted' as the poet pronounces every word definitely and with great depth: My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory," He addresses Jessie Pope, if not sarcastically then certainly ironically as 'My friend'. We know that Owen wrote this poem in a direct response to Jessie Pope's glib and often crude poems advocating war and one patriotic duty. He launches a vitriolic attack on the sentimental patriotism of the stay at home war enthusiasts and pro-war propagandists. Ideologically she is the poet's enemy.

Owens use of the word 'children' highlights the innocence and vulnerability of the soldiers.  The closing words of the

poem render Horace's old fable: "The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori. " The poet claims that not only have the pro-war propagandists lain to these soldiers but also that young men have been lied to since time began- 'The old Lie'. Obviously Owen has used the Latin motto ironically as he personally believes the opposite to be true, that it is a tragic and needless waste of human life to die for one's country.

Juxtaposing Owen's closing remarks with those of Brooke underscores the poets' very different attitudes to death in war: "And Nobleness walks in our way again: And we have come into our heritage. " The use of personification is continued to communicate the respect, dignity and esteem that the soldiers have gained through death. Again, the mood is full of triumphalism and the gift of nobleness is highlighted by the use of capital letter 'N'. The poet brings his unusual argument to its logical conclusion that the war has somehow been the salvation, rather than the destruction of our society.

The poems concluded that by dying in war the soldiers have eradicated any sense of loss and have accomplished instead the vastly superior destiny of eternal glory. The war, the accounts of their deaths, the fighting and the battles will all be documented and recorded in our history books, in poems and in stories. It will forever form part of our culture, our history. The soldiers' names and memories will be etched into our pasts and will thus shape our future. The poem itself is an act of commemoration for such fallen heroes as 'The Rich Dead'.

Of the poems I

have studied, my personal preference is by far the work of Wilfred Owen as I feel he represents the reality of war more successfully than his contemporaries do. His poetry may be grim and disturbing but his writing has the effect of personally involving you into the poem. Owen strives to provide a more realistic image of the wholly unavoidable human suffering that war brings. I think the following line from the song "The Green Fields of France" reflects this image accurately when the writer describes his feelings while standing in a World War One graveyard:

To a man's blind indifference to his fellow man, To a whole generation who were butchered and damned" Rupert Brooke's work on the other hand is aiming to paint a pretty picture of the harsh realities of war. Although in theory the romantic principles presented by Brooke may seem attractive, to apply them to real life is nai?? ve and idealistic. War might bring glory on a wider scale, but to claim that a soldier's needless death in appalling conditions is honourable is simply untrue. War may well be inevitable but it is senseless and can never be justified.